"It was the most moving thing that I had ever heard in my life. Everybody was moved to tears," she said.

But there was a surprise yet to come - when she met Owens in person, she found out he had been following her track career because they were both from Cleveland.

"I was fascinated that this man, this legend, knew me of all people," she remembered, her eyes aglow. "He reached out and hugged me and said, 'You're ready. This is your time, go out there and get that gold.' And I said, 'Yes sir,' and proceeded to do that."

The 1968 games saw controversy in the form of Black Power protests, but nothing like what happened at Mims' second Olympics, at Munich in 1972.

The Israeli team was attacked by Palestinian terrorists.

"The women's U.S. track and field dormitory was directly adjacent to the Israeli dormitory, so when we went out on the porch of one of our sprinters we were looking right at the action.

"When he turned we saw the gun and we just all fell silent for a moment. And one of the girls said, 'Is that a machine gun?' It must have hit us all at the same time because we all just turned and ran for the door," she said.

"Of course we blocked the door and nobody could get out and I had a horrible feeling. ... I thought he's going to get really upset that we're making all this noise and just start shooting. And I could just imagine bullets riveting through my back. I was just so scared," she said.

Eleven Israelis, a German policeman and five terrorists died in the Black September attack.

But the Games went on - and so did Mims, who found herself mothering her teammates more and more over time.

"A couple times I didn't run such good races when I was up till 2 or 3 in the morning trying to help another athlete deal with different issues," she said.

Only later did she realize this was all preparation to become a chaplain.

"It was just natural for me to do because of my Christian beliefs. That's what we are taught to do, serve - serve others," Mims said.

Mims, the former Olympian, at the piano.

The Olympic Games have had official chaplains since Seoul, South Korea, in 1988. Mims was invited to be part of that first group.

"There were only two women called, one lady who spoke nine languages from Switzerland, and myself - and 25 men from all over the world," she remembered.

Many of them, she suspected, probably thought she shouldn't be there - but she thinks she's been a help to athletes, because she knows what they're going through.

"The thing is a lot of people don't understand is that in competition there is a lot of fear and pain. It's a part of who an athlete is. And to get through that, to break through that, so that you can produce at your highest level, many of them pray for God's help," she said.

That's why it's so common to see athletes thanking God for their successes, she said.

"They are really thanking Him for helping them to get through this, to be able to do what He created them to do," she said.

Sometimes athletes come to her for counsel, and she doesn't say a thing.

"They want to you to tell them something, but you just let them talk themselves through it. A lot of times and they get up and say, 'You've been so helpful, I feel so much better,' and I haven't said anything," she said, bursting into laughter.

soundoff(295 Responses)

Have you ever seen a t0w3lhead win any medal for the USA? I rest my case.

August 12, 2012 at 10:48 am |

Atheism is not healthy for children and other living things

Prayer really changes things

August 11, 2012 at 7:24 am |

kindless

Actually, atheism is wonderful for children and all people! Prayer as it turn out, is just a time-sucker-upper. Who would've thought. Meditation is ok for collecting one's thoughts, but it's best to keep all the make-believe characters to one's self.

Atheists have strong minds and encourage people to take responsibility for their actions within society instead of having their misdeeds excused and often hidden within their religion (comforting their weak minds, but simultaneously disserving society).

Break the matrix of deception by all religions. Break the fallacy of revelation.

If the thought leaving your imaginary friends behind is just too much, or makes you want to go p00py, then try Atheism Lite™ (agnosticism) for a period of time to ease your way into a much more rewarding, peaceful life.

It is written. RIF

heavenSnot

August 11, 2012 at 6:52 pm |

Jesus

Prayer does not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.

An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.

The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs!* .

August 12, 2012 at 11:55 am |

Bill Deacon

Missy, just so you can't say you haven't been informed. The Catholic Church docaments opposition to slavery from as early as the fourth century. The equality of men and women is expressed eloquently in Paul's letter to the Ephesians and, having no immediate reference for American Indians, I found this snippet quite rapidly; I'm sure you would want to be accurately informed:

No informed person would endeavor to maintain that the churchmen were always in the right, but by the same token no one can deny that they were generally on the side of the angels in their treatment of the Indians. It was the outraged voice of the friar, Bartolomé de las Casas, which first made Europe aware of the fate that had befallen thousands of the natives in enslavement by the Spanish conquerors. As it was the agitation aroused by Las Casas and his kind that prompted Pope Paul III in 1537 to issue the bull Sublimis Deus in which he declared: "The said Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ." (American Catholicism, 5)

August 10, 2012 at 4:39 pm |

change the world and slap some sense into a christard today!

Bill Deacon wrote: "The equality of men and women is expressed . . ." And practiced with the highest regard during the various inqusitions! NOT!

August 10, 2012 at 5:04 pm |

change the world and slap some sense into a christard today!

Bill Deacon wrote: "The equality of men and women is expressed . . ." And practiced with the highest regard during the various inquisitions! NOT! (spelling corrected)

August 10, 2012 at 5:05 pm |

billdeacons

Well if you can't condemn the teaching I guess you can condemn the student.

August 11, 2012 at 12:50 am |

Missy

Again Bill I was talking about the foundations of American society.

August 11, 2012 at 2:03 am |

Reality

Some 21st century guidance for new members of this blog:

Summarizing added bible history:

The Apostles' Creed 2011: (updated based on the studies of historians and theologians during the past 200 years)

I might believe in a god whose existence cannot be proven
and said god if he/she/it exists resides in an unproven,
human-created, spirit state of bliss called heaven.

I believe there was a 1st century CE, Jewish, simple,
preacher-man who was conceived by a Jewish carpenter
named Joseph living in Nazareth and born of a young Jewish
girl named Mary. (Some say he was a mamzer.)

Jesus was summarily crucified for being a temple rabble-rouser by
the Roman troops in Jerusalem serving under Pontius Pilate,

He was buried in an unmarked grave and still lies
a-mouldering in the ground somewhere outside of
Jerusalem.

Said Jesus' story was embellished and "mythicized" by
many semi-fiction writers. A bodily resurrection and
ascension stories were promulgated to compete with the
Caesar myths. Said stories were so popular that they
grew into a religion known today as Catholicism/Christianity
and featuring dark-age, daily wine to blood and bread to body rituals
called the eucharistic sacrifice of the non-atoning Jesus.

Amen

(references used are available upon written request)

August 10, 2012 at 2:58 pm |

....

BULL SH IT ALERT

August 10, 2012 at 3:52 pm |

Atheism is not healthy for children and other living things

Prayer changes otherwise rational adults into believing in imaginery friends like children do.

August 10, 2012 at 2:39 pm |

Prayer changes things

Atheism is not healthy for children and other living things. Proof provided by name thief above

August 10, 2012 at 3:53 pm |

Jack

Prayer Changes Things is a whiny beoch, proven by the above post. BTW, the only other people I see who whine as much about name thievery are Heavensent and just sayin... I wonder.

August 10, 2012 at 4:07 pm |

Jesus

"Prayer changes things"

~Prayer does not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.

An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.

The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs! .

August 10, 2012 at 4:36 pm |

change the world and slap some sense into a christard today!

@Prayer changes things

Actually, atheism is wonderful for children and all people! Prayer as it turn out, is just a time-sucker-upper. Who would've thought.

Atheists have strong minds and are good at helping weak-minded people work through their struggles with other people or the imaginary forces or obstacles that men have made up. Atheists encourage people to take responsibility for their actions within society instead of having their misdeeds excused and often hidden within their religion (comforting their weak minds, but simultaneously disserving society).

Break the matrix of deception by all religions.

If the thought leaving your imaginary friends behind is just too much, or makes you want to go p00py, then try Atheism Lite™ (agnosticism) for a period of time to ease your way into a much more rewarding, peaceful life.

It is written. RIF

heavenSnot

August 10, 2012 at 5:08 pm |

Mike

Jack, the Christians IDs always get ripped off on this atheist site. Atheists trash Christians when stealing their IDs, then turn around and pretend their IDs are stolen too. No one is buying this game, except other atheists.

August 11, 2012 at 3:13 am |

truth be told

@mike
You will find that the majority of so called atheist/ho mo se xuals on these blogs are foreigners with an ax to grind against the USA

Beyond the bible, beyond our grasp, is the truth.
We must keep on keeping on, without knocking each other for yearning.
We are all looking for the same thing.
The truth.

August 10, 2012 at 12:16 pm |

believer

Truth is a person. Truth is Jesus Christ, God incarnate. He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Only when you surrender your whole being to Him will you begin your journey into what is real and eternal and be able to discern truth from lies.

August 10, 2012 at 4:45 pm |

Mike

I read on this site that you atheists aren't using the frontal lobe portion of your brain. That explains a lot.

Even the Bible agrees with you, There is NO God, says a fool. Now check out the definition of a Fool/wise in your dictionary (a dictionary is a book that lists the words of a language in alphabetical order and gives their meaning)

delusion |diˈlo͞oZHən|
noun
an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder: the delusion of being watched.

August 10, 2012 at 12:00 pm |

HeavenSent

The USA founding fathers believed in Jesus Christ, and so do we. What country are you from Big Mouth Atheist?

Lol. Jesus Christ is not the corner stone of this country you tard. The founders had fresh in their minds the religious persecution their parents and grandparents had endured. They agreed, despite their own religious leanings, to make the strong point of separation of church and state and to make this a country based on freedom, not religion. Did you sleep through high school government class or did you arrive here after high school?

August 10, 2012 at 12:51 pm |

HeavenSent

Chronological age doesn't count Big Mouth Atheist, when all you atheists act like you are having 5 y.o. temper tantrums.

August 10, 2012 at 1:23 pm |

HeavenSent

Jesus Truth is the cornerstone of the bridge. Atheist have bridge to no where. Big mouth bass Atheist cannot fish me.

Amen.

August 10, 2012 at 1:26 pm |

HeavenSent

That's not my post.

August 10, 2012 at 1:39 pm |

HeavenSent

save the world and slap some sense into a christard today! Instead of listening to lying atheists sites, try reading our forefather's papers.

I was trying to post George Washington's farewell address and it was blocked by the communist site of CNN's.

August 10, 2012 at 1:44 pm |

Cq

There is No god BUT God
Back in Paul's time, before science could give the real explanations of things, you could make that claim because there wasn't an alternative to saying some god was responsible for something in nature. Now, however, the situation is completely different, so Paul's wisdom no longer applies.

August 10, 2012 at 1:47 pm |

Paranoia Puncture

HeavenSent
"I was trying to post George Washington's farewell address and it was blocked by the communist site of CNN's."

"grat-itude" and "const-itution" for starters... you silly git.

August 10, 2012 at 1:50 pm |

HeavenSent

Paranoia Puncture, neither of those 2 words were in the paragraphs I chose. Therefore, CNN are communists.

August 10, 2012 at 1:59 pm |

Paranoia Puncture

HeavenSent,

What are the first couple of words from your chosen paragraphs? I'll bet that I will find the tricky words in a jiffy.

August 10, 2012 at 2:05 pm |

..

Heavensent, go to tinyurl dot com
paste in your link. it will give you a smaller link.

paste in that link as tinyurl dot com slash k1hjd2eu

for example.

August 10, 2012 at 2:34 pm |

Bill Deacon

This seems to violate the first rule of atheist debate. Whoever makes the extraordinary claim is required to substantiate the proof thereof. So let's see your cards VA.

August 10, 2012 at 4:27 pm |

Cq

Bill Deacon
Arguing that God is real is the extraordinary claim here. If saying that God isn't real were one then saying that any of the thousands of other gods aren't real is equally extraordinary, yet that's a basic belief of Christianity, right? All TheVocalAtheist is doing is pointing out that there really isn't any valid proof to believe the claim that one particular god happens to be a real one when the general rule, it seems, is to regard gods as things of myth.

August 11, 2012 at 2:00 am |

Mike

Scientists are explaining why you atheists don't believe. Not a very good outcome if you ask me. It must be horrible walking through life never feeling, only thinking.

August 11, 2012 at 3:18 am |

Hypatia

xians just insisting on tossing their tired little deity into a great occassion.

August 10, 2012 at 10:49 am |

no one gives a sh it

what you think

August 10, 2012 at 10:57 am |

kindless

no one gives a sh it wrote: "what you think"

Sh it-complex have we?

August 10, 2012 at 11:16 am |

HeavenSent

I think it's atheist cancer complex.

August 10, 2012 at 12:05 pm |

save the world and slap some sense into a christard today!

Hypatia wrote: "tired little deity"

A pacifier for these collicky babies.

August 10, 2012 at 12:56 pm |

HeavenSent

Why don't the atheists look up the word sociopath and we can all call it a day.

John 3:16
Are you Rollen Stewart, the sports field fixture of years ago who use to hold up a "John 3:16" sign in the background while wearing a rainbow wig? I thought you got life for kidnapping back in the 90s?

August 10, 2012 at 1:55 pm |

HeavenSent

Winners always, the problem is these atheists haven't a clue they are sociopaths. No emotions.

August 10, 2012 at 2:01 pm |

William Demuth

If God has power can he recharge my phone?

I keep looking on the crucifix, but I can't find any USB slots.

August 10, 2012 at 9:02 am |

You're an atheist if

What is your crucifix for William? Here you can get them in flavours. Maple is a favorite.

August 10, 2012 at 9:25 am |

William Demuth

Well mine has two "C cell" batteries in it 🙂

Christian woman really seem to like it.

August 10, 2012 at 9:27 am |

Young Autistic Man

Why in world would you have a crucifix? The only people I ever see have a crucifix are the Roman Catholics. Most branches of Christianity have no crucifix.

Atheists have strong minds and good at helping weak-minded people work through their struggles with other people or the imaginary forces or obstacles that men have made up. Atheists encourage people to take responsibility for their actions within society instead of having their misdeeds excused and often hidden within their religion (comforting their weak minds, but simultaneously disserving society).

Break the matrix of deception by all religions.

If the thought leaving your imaginary friends behind is just too much, or makes you want to go p00py, then try Atheism Lite™ (agnosticism) for a period of time to ease your way into a much more rewarding, peaceful life.

It is written.

heavenSnot

August 10, 2012 at 9:22 am |

an atheist is

A useless drag on society and an impediment to positive human growth.

August 10, 2012 at 10:22 am |

Jesus

Prayer does not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.

An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.

The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs! ,

August 10, 2012 at 10:44 am |

Hitler

@atheism is

If you were to look at the medieval dark ages, you'll see that it was Christianity that suppressed science. If the dark ages never occurred, then we would be vastly more advanced in technology and our understanding of the world. Christianity is the true suppressant of positive human growth.

August 10, 2012 at 11:23 am |

HeavenSent

kindless, I told you before (LOL), not that an atheists knows anything ... but, these are not my posts. Other Christians are on this site.

August 10, 2012 at 2:04 pm |

Atheism is not healthy for children and other living things

Prayer changes otherwise rational adults into believing in imaginery friends like children do.

August 10, 2012 at 2:39 pm |

TR6

The power of prayer doesn’t seem to impress the pope much since he prefers a built proof pope-mobile instead of trusting in the protection of god

August 10, 2012 at 3:32 pm |

doctore0

Spoiler: There is no god.. that fake gawd of Abraham, he hates all; Lucky he does not exist 🙂

August 10, 2012 at 5:59 am |

HeavenSent

doczero, have you looked into your sociopathy yet?

August 10, 2012 at 2:02 pm |

doctore0

It's all good!

August 10, 2012 at 2:50 pm |

Eric

You could say there is no proof, I would say the better way to discribe it is no imperical evidence.

But then again when we look closely at the majority of our modern theories there is not any imperical evidence for the assumptions made in them.

dont get me wrong I am also a science geek not the world is 6000 years old guy.

But assumptions that are Believed and were penned by men. Evolution, yes there is evidence to show change within species, however where did protien molecules come from...all of them what are the odds of there formation if random. The cell really look at it How was it made?

Big bang you know what we can observe doesnt disagree from scripture. However I am fuzzy on the poof something out of nothing thought. There is no evidence what is outside the universe so we do know.

If fact I am willing to bet we are way off on the nature of the universe which what we have observed is 46billion light years accross but is just under 14 billion years old. Something is amiss there.
Either relitivity is wrong the big bang is wrong or spacetime itself is far more strange hen we currently know.

But yet there are believers in these theories and will defend them.

August 10, 2012 at 1:45 am |

tallulah13

"I don't know" is not proof of god. If you want to know about how life may have started on earth, check out the Miller-Urey experiment.

August 10, 2012 at 1:59 am |

Bootyfunk

"Evolution, yes there is evidence to show change within species, however where did protien molecules come from...all of them what are the odds of there formation if random. The cell really look at it How was it made? "

there is a MOUNTAIN of empirical evidence for evolution - there is ZERO empirical evidence for God
see a difference?

how was the cell made? you think a more satisfying answer is 'divine magic'? that's a lazy and childish answer, and it does the truth an injustice.

"Big bang you know what we can observe doesnt disagree from scripture. "
wrong. there are numerous conflicts with the bible's description of creation and the actual evolution of our universe, solar system and earth. the bible says the earth is flat. the bible says there was light before the sun/stars. you even admit the bible says the world is 6k years old - but you don't believe it. you may not believe it - but it's what the bible says.

there is not a shred of evidence for God. none. zero. nada.

you say you have a scientific mind, but ignore evidence in favor of myth.

August 10, 2012 at 2:00 am |

Bootyfunk

miller-urey experiment:

scientists showed that amino acids (the building blocks of life and proteins) could created naturally. take basic elements found on earth (oxygen, hydrogen, etc) and then electrify the mixture (imitating a lightning strike) and viola, you have amino acids.

chemistry offers a much more satisfying answer than "it was magic!"

August 10, 2012 at 2:04 am |

Eric

I did not say living creatures do not evolve I asked for proof how the cell came to be. Or all the protein molecules that randomly arranged them selves.

How about extra dimensions, do they exist?

Yes there was light before sun and stars in the early universe the electrons were not bound to nucli, This caused a glow(light) then the light and darkness was seperated ...the age of stars.

August 10, 2012 at 2:08 am |

Eric

Bootyfunk There was test done attempting this the results were questionable I dont remember the name of the study. do you remember it off hand so I can look it up?

August 10, 2012 at 2:11 am |

tallulah13

Erick, I suggest you read "Why Evolution is True" by biology professor Jerry Coyne. It will cut through your confusion and give you a basic understanding of evolution. It's also very easy to read.

August 10, 2012 at 2:15 am |

Eric

Once again i do not completely disagree with evolution. There is plenty of evidence to support it, to what extent who knows. Just the fact people have different skin tones is proof of some form of evolution.

I asked how did the cell evolve? it would need all of its complex structure working at the same time. I mean if it evolved what came first the membrain? well couldnt be... nothing to nurish it. Oh then how about metabolic function... well no membrane to keep it together... or what abouyt the rest of the complexities of the cell..

August 10, 2012 at 2:21 am |

Eric

My point is that you are taking what another is saying as gospel with no evidence.

Sounds alot like belief, not fact.

Guess we are not so different.

August 10, 2012 at 2:23 am |

Eric

GOD did create the universe, all the processes within it. What we can and do observe is all part of creation. even if and its a real big if the theory of evolution was 100% correct it still doesnt take away anything from GOD. He set up all the properties of the universe, everything in it.

I do not see random chance, the probability of the universe the way it is life etc is infinitly small. There have been attempts to rectify this with GOD like an infinit numberof universes...Not observable ofcourse.

What was the name of the bioligist think he discovered DNA or was part of the team...said aliens seeded the earth because of the evidence of design... Really aliens...where did they come from then...

August 10, 2012 at 2:45 am |

tallulah13

So what you are saying, Eric, is that since scientific processes can't completely explain the workings of life in the universe to your satisfaction, you will reject it in favor of a book that was written 2000 years ago by men who claimed to speak for a god.

There is not a single shred of evidence to support the existence of your god or any god, and there is nothing to indicate that your bible is anything more than a collection of middle eastern myths. Many of the rules that regulate your religion were written by an former Roman bureaucrat who never actually met the man for whom your religion was named.

This is American; anyone can believe whatever they want, but when you actually think about what christians believe, and why, it becomes obvious that your reasons for being a christian have more to do with what you want to believe than what is actually proven.

August 10, 2012 at 3:06 am |

Eric

I am not telling you what to believe. I am completely for discovery through the scientific process.

The process becomes unscientific when a potential answer is excluded do to ones own personal beliefs.

Everything has a root cause I believe that when you dig deep enough it all goes back to GOD.

Why do we feel guilty about doing wrong? Yes it is an electrochemical process in our brains why though what evolutionary purpose does it serve?

What is stress why can it kill... You know if we trusted GOD we wouldnt stress.

STDs why do they exist..you know if we just had 1 partner there would be no STD or spread of it..

when you look at things and ask why..not the process, but what is its purpose you might come to a different answer.

There is alot more then these.

All this information is good to know but what really matters is GOD loves everyone no matter what. There is nothing you can do to make GOD love you less. That is truth.

August 10, 2012 at 3:20 am |

Mirosal

It looks like Eric is practicing an old, ancient religion called "God of the gaps". Since man and/or sceince has YET to answer some questions, Eric thinks that it MUST be some "god" who did it. Eric, you are intellectually lazy to think this. Atheists are comfortable in saying "We do not know", because we don't, and THAT is an honest answer. At least not yet. You fail to see the wonder in discovering. And your forthcoming argument that "god only shares what he wants us to find" doesn't cut it. Again, you're going to the gap-god. Tell us, WHY is your "god" real and the thousands of others aren't? Because of a book? That book was written by men uneducated in the workings of the natural world.

August 10, 2012 at 3:25 am |

Eric

I am not sure how you get that... I am for scientific discovery. I would love to fill all the gaps in. well the ones that can be filled. One day science may even prove the existence of GOD.

The point is that science should be for the discovery of truth. Today it is being used in an attempt to disprove GOD and that cant be done.

When it comes to studies, polls, stats ask questions just dont believe what someone tells you, reasearch them and verify, You will that quite often the starting point itself was biased.

When it comes to belief in GOD also research it. Dont disbelieve without studing it. That is a disservice to yourself.

Thank you for your time. Im off to sleep. Goodnight and GOD bless

August 10, 2012 at 3:41 am |

Mirosal

I've read the bible, I've even read the Qu'ran. Stories written for societies that no longer exist. In untold thousands of years, not a single person, among the billions who have lived before or now, has ever proven one single shred of evidence of ANYTHING "supernatural". You may be right about one point though. A starting point night be biased. But, science loves to prove a hypothesis, whether right or wrong. Unfortunately, it isn't the Atheists who have the staring point of a "god". Christians Jews, Muslims, et.al. have made the claim there IS one. So.... show us. It's your claim, your hypothesis. So show us your research, your evidence.

August 10, 2012 at 3:56 am |

Doc Vestibule

@Eric
Science isn't being "used to disprove God". Scientists are not in the habit of formulating negative hypotheses as there is no way to properly test them.
It may feel as though that's the case, but that is merely because so many of the things previously ascribed to Divine Intervention have been explained as natural phenomena. Some of the central assumptions of Christianity, like Geocentrism, flat Earth theories and young Earth creationism, have been thoroughly debunked.
This is what is meant by the God of the Gaps – with each successive discovery, religionists who claim to be the sole arbiters of "Truth" have had to retreat. Note how the Vatican now accepts evolution to be true and have pushed God into the role of "He who imbues the soul" as opposed to "He who built life".
The leading rabble rousers in the Creationist world – The Center for Science and Culture (sponsored by the Discovery Inst.itute) openly admit that their goal isn't to teach what they think is fact. An internal doc.ument leaked in 1999 described the Discovery group's objective in pushing for creationism to be taught in schools as "to defeat scientific materialism and its destructive moral, cultural and political legacies". They want to use Intelligent Design as a "wedge" to separate science from its allegiance to "atheistic naturalism".
In other words, they fear that teaching FACTS to children will drive them away from religion.
Abiogenesis is a gap in our current understanding, but if the history of scientific progress over the past 300 years is any indication, we will find an answer – and that answer will open 100 more questions to be investigated.
That is the nature of scientific discoveries.
There are many things that are unknown, but nothing is ultimately unknowable.

August 10, 2012 at 8:20 am |

chubby rain

"I asked how did the cell evolve? it would need all of its complex structure working at the same time. I mean if it evolved what came first the membrain? well couldnt be... nothing to nurish it. Oh then how about metabolic function... well no membrane to keep it together... or what abouyt the rest of the complexities of the cell.."

This assumes modern cells functioned exactly like the first cells. The simple answer is we don't know yet and we may never know for sure (no time machine...). That doesn't mean God did it. That doesn't mean YOUR god did it. Also, the enzymes in the citric acid cycle have different roles in a cell. They are not irreducibly complex, which is the argument you are making. Here is a source that exposes the faults with irreducible complexity.

http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/design2/article.html

August 10, 2012 at 9:01 am |

lunchbreaker

Ah, the classic "God of the gaps". Whatever science has not answered yet was goddidit. With this line of reasoning, God's role has been shrinking exponentially over time. At this point God said poof: big bang... 11,000,000,000 years later, if we entertain Eric and say a cell cannot evolve by itself, poof, single cell, let evolve... couple more billion years, humans, Bible, crucifixion, now waiting for Revelations to come true. The other danger of this line of thinking, is if God violates the rules of physics just once, physics is useless. How can we even use science if it is possible the results of any study were interferred with by divine intervention. If the rules of science can be broken, it also makes them usless for theists. You can't use science to prove anything supporting your theology if said rules can be broken at God's whim.

"When it comes to belief in GOD also research it. Dont disbelieve without studing it. That is a disservice to yourself."

Why the double standard?

August 10, 2012 at 11:39 am |

Answer

–quote–

"The process becomes unscientific when a potential answer is excluded do to ones own personal beliefs. "

That sentence alone says it is the "god of the gaps" argument. Here is the summary on these religious nutcase argument..

"I'd tell ya there is a god in there somewhere.. if only we can convince ourselves to find god. Believe it sinners."
-which is basically pathetic.

August 10, 2012 at 3:55 pm |

tallulah13

Pat Tillman was an atheist athlete, until he turned down a pro football contract worth millions in order to serve his country after 9/11. He joined the army but was killed in Iraq. It makes me sad that he died to protect the rights of the very christians who mock him.

What athletic award did you win, Heaven Scent, that allows you to judge others?

August 10, 2012 at 1:01 am |

Bootyfunk

he's a hero. proves wrong the religious propaganda that there are no atheists in foxholes.

heaven sent = worthless

August 10, 2012 at 1:17 am |

Eric

I do not understand you point there are also some world class athiest that have not been so self sacrificing.

Believe it or not though that is addressed in the bible

August 10, 2012 at 1:25 am |

Bootyfunk

the bible is a work of fiction.

August 10, 2012 at 1:28 am |

tallulah13

This was actually posted in the wrong place. Heaven Scent was going on about atheists whining too much to be athletes. As usual, she neglected to look at the truth before posting her lies.

Believe it or not, Eric, not all christians, athletes or not, or so self-sacrificing. And I'll be honest with you: the subject matter of the bible is neither here nor there. Just as there is no proof for any god, there is no proof that the bible is anything more than a collection of Middle Eastern myths.

August 10, 2012 at 1:31 am |

You're an atheist if

What athletic award entitles anyone to anything outside of athletics tallulah13? Have you been dazzled by the Olympics? Are you prone to hero worship?

August 10, 2012 at 9:34 am |

HeavenSent

tallulah13, atheists don't represent the USA, you're in the embarrassment category. Remember, you're only legends in your own minds.

August 10, 2012 at 12:11 pm |

HeavenSent

Bootyfunk, the only fiction is you cartoon characters called atheists.

HS
Slavery, male domination and treating indians like animals use to be the other three corner stones of this country, but we've managed to replace those parts of our foundation for the greater good just like we should replace this one. The Founding Fathers fought against the tyranny of clerics.

August 10, 2012 at 2:00 pm |

HeavenSent

Missy, besides atheists being liars, try reading our founding father's papers on your own, without the doctoring affects on the baloney atheist sites. Our forefathers believed in Jesus Christ and his biblical principles. Those principles of Jesus is our foundation in this country. You atheist took 7 words from a private Letter of Thomas Jefferson's that upheld religious freedoms, twisted it and contorted it to get your phony win.

August 10, 2012 at 2:09 pm |

Bill Deacon

@missy, second attempt to post: The Catholic Church has opposed slavery since the fourth century. The equality of men and women is described in Paul's letter to the Ephesians and here is a snippet I found quickly regarding the Church's views on Native Americans:

No informed person would endeavor to maintain that the churchmen were always in the right, but by the same token no one can deny that they were generally on the side of the angels in their treatment of the Indians. It was the outraged voice of the friar, Bartolomé de las Casas, which first made Europe aware of the fate that had befallen thousands of the natives in enslavement by the Spanish conquerors. As it was the agitation aroused by Las Casas and his kind that prompted Pope Paul III in 1537 to issue the bull Sublimis Deus in which he declared: "The said Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ." (American Catholicism, 5)

August 10, 2012 at 4:44 pm |

Missy

Bill Deacon
I was talking about American history.

August 11, 2012 at 1:03 am |

Cq

HS
The 1796 Treaty with Tripoli states that the United States was "not in any sense founded on the Christian religion". Many of the Founding Fathers were Deists who denied Jesus' divinity. Had Darwin been around just before their time they'd probably have been atheists.

Here is a small sampling of their religious views:

". . . Some books against Deism fell into my hands. . . It happened that they wrought an effect on my quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist." Benjamin Franklin

"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." Benjamin Franklin

"In the affairs of the world, men are saved not by faith, but by the lack of it." Benjamin Franklin

"I looked around for God's judgments, but saw no signs of them." Benjamin Franklin

"As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation. But how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?" John Adams

"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half of the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we call it the word of a demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind." Thomas Paine

August 11, 2012 at 1:40 am |

Cq

HS
"What is it the New Testament teaches us? To believe that the Almighty committed deb-auchery with a woman engaged to be married; and the belief of this deb-auchery is called faith." Thomas Paine

"The study of theology, as it stands in the Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authority; it has no data; it can demo.nstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion." Thomas Paine

"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise." James Madison

"It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticisms that three are one, and one is three; and yet the one is not three, and the three are not one:" Thomas Jefferson

"Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the Common Law." Thomas Jefferson

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose." Thomas Jefferson

"No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever." Thomas Jefferson

"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced an inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth." Thomas Jefferson

"It has been fifty and sixty years since I read the Apocalypse, and then I considered it merely the ravings of a maniac." Thomas Jefferson

"We discover in the gospels a groundwork of vulgar ignorance, of things impossible, of superst.ition, fanaticism and fabrication." Thomas Jefferson

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.